Consumer acceptability of guava leaves incorporated chutney powder

The current investigation aimed to know the consumer acceptability of value-added food product called the guava leaves incorporated chutney powder prepared with tender guava leaves. A total of 50 participants, including undergraduate and postgraduate students plus the mess workers from the University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore, were selected at random for the assessment. The sample consisted of 30.00 per cent respondents below the age of 20 years and 70.00 per cent of them between the ages of 21 and 30 years. Among them, one-fifth (20.00%) were male and four-fifth (80.00%) were female. Also, 80.00 per cent were of student category and 20.00 per cent were of mess workers category. Consumer preferences were measured using the FACT scale, which included nine statements to evaluate the opinion towards the prepared product. The study revealed that guava leaf-incorporated chutney powder received favorable responses, with significant (46.00%) of participants stating that they would eat it at every opportunity they had. Sixteen per cent said that they would eat it frequently and 12.00 per cent of them told that they liked it and would consume it now and then. Ten per cent indicated that they would consume or eat it very often, while 8.00 per cent said they would consume it if accessible to them but not seek it out. Only 4.00 per cent would consume it on instance despite disliking it and equal number of respondents (2.00%) of them said they would hardly ever consume it and would consume it only at a time when no other food alternatives or options are available. None reported that they would eat it only if forced. These results suggest strong consumer acceptance for guava leaf-based chutney powder, signifying the potentiality of guava-based value-added chutney powder among consumers.